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Introduction

We do not know which concerto Handel used to open his own performances—he may have used different concertos on different occasions—but one manuscript of the 1740s begins with the Concerto Grosso in D minor, No 10 of the Opus 6 set. The debate then begins with Allegro and Penseroso defining their initial positions in accompanied recitatives. In each case the orchestra depicts the emotion rejected by the singer: the dark tone of low strings and bassoons for ‘loathed Melancholy’, light, literally bass-less violins and violas for ‘vain deluding Joys’. Allegro calls for the ‘goddess Euphrosyne’ (one of the three Graces, representing Mirth) and her sister Graces, while Penseroso gravely embraces ‘divinest Melancholy’ for her inspiration. The theme of mirth is taken up again by the Allegro tenor and the chorus in an unbuttoned paean to ‘laughter, holding both his sides’, with much play on the syllable ‘ho’. The continuation, however, is in a minor key, the first of the numbers which shade the Allegro mood in a kind of half-light, thus preparing for the solemn return of Penseroso, now addressing Melancholy as a ‘pensive nun, devout and pure’. (The section beginning ‘There, held in holy passion still’ was added in 1741.) Allegro compares her carefree liberty to that of the morning lark in an aria with a swift high-soaring line for the violins. Penseroso chooses ‘Philomel’—the nightingale—as her favourite bird. In the famous aria ‘Sweet bird’ a solo flute imitates the nightingale’s song, which the soprano first answers and then joins in ecstatic duet.

The contrasts continue in a succession of solo numbers. The Allegro bass praises the pleasures of a morning hunt, appropriately assisted by a solo French horn. Penseroso prefers the time of sunset, either out of doors listening for the ‘far-off curfew’ (suggested with wonderful simplicity by pizzicato basses), or indoors watching the dying embers of a fire. The thought is extended in ‘Far from all resort of mirth’ (another 1741 addition) where the perky violin line (representing the ‘cricket on the hearth’) is waywardly punctuated by the stolid rhythm of the night-watchman’s bell. ‘Let me wander not unseen’ is the Allegro song ‘in Sicilian Style’ (that is, in the style of a siciliana) proposed by James Harris, a suggestion taken up by Handel to delectable effect. Originally this led to a chorus using the same music to finish Part I but, in a last-minute revision in 1740, Handel substituted a lively major-key setting of the words ‘Or let the merry bells ring round’, with imitations of English change-ringing and a sparkling part for a carillon. In 1741 he inserted the aria ‘Straight mine eye’, expressing Allegro’s pleasure in open landscapes, taking the catchy tune from an aria composed for his opera Deidamia but replaced before performance. Its middle section (‘Mountains, on whose barren breast’) has the form of an accompanied recitative. In 1743 Handel revised this section for bass voice and eliminated the da capo repeat of the aria. The final result of these changes is a dramatic sequence of numbers to close the first part ending, as Handel originally intended, with the merry dancers falling into quiet sleep.

Part II opens with an accompanied recitative for Penseroso, now immersed in nightly study of Plato and ‘thrice-great Hermes’ (Hermes Trismegistus, the mythical author of a series of mystical writings supposedly originating in ancient Egypt and much studied in the Renaissance). An addition of 1741, ‘Sometimes let gorgeous tragedy’, expresses Penseroso’s theatrical taste, with references to the stories of classical Greek tragedies. (The ‘buskin’, as in ‘buskin’d stage’, was a thick-soled boot worn by ancient tragic actors, as opposed to the ‘sock’ or light slipper worn by comic actors.) The image of Tragedy as a cloaked figure ‘sweeping by’ inspires overlapping descending phrases in the string accompaniment. The ‘sad virgin’ addressed in Penseroso’s next aria is Melancholy again, now requested to bring back the inspiration of the mystic poet Musaeus or even of his master Orpheus, whose song, ‘warbled to the string’ of his lyre, moved Pluto, God of the Underworld, to pity; an elaborate cello solo imitates the lyre.

The mood is abruptly broken by Allegro’s vigorous praise of urban life (‘Populous cities please me then’), backed up by the chorus and the appearance of trumpets and drums in the orchestra. Visions of antique masquerades, such as those led by Hymen, God of Marriage, are evoked in a more thoughtful tenor aria. Penseroso returns with a plea for solitude and shade, leading to the extraordinarily introspective aria ‘Hide me from Day’s garish eye’, where the voice floats high on the upper strings until the basses enter quietly to mark the breaking of a ‘strange mysterious dream’ by ‘sweet music’. Allegro, picking up the theatrical theme already touched on by Penseroso, states a preference for the comedies of Ben Jonson (‘Jonson’s learned sock’) and ‘sweetest Shakespeare’ in the galumphing song ‘I’ll to the well-trod stage anon’. The next number, ‘And ever against eating cares Wrap me in soft Lydian airs’, is also for Allegro, but is a serious piece, perhaps intended to suggest voluptuousness (music in the Lydian mode was supposed to be especially relaxing). A brighter mood follows in another of the 1741 additions, ‘Orpheus’ self may heave his head’, in which Allegro appears to assume (in contrast to Penseroso earlier) that the legendary singer wins Pluto over by sheer vocal virtuosity. A solo trumpet starts the last and most exuberant music for Allegro, first for tenor solo and then for chorus. The final section of Part II is all for Penseroso, now apparently walking around the cloisters of a great cathedral and listening to the ‘pealing organ’. Handel calls for appropriate solos on the instrument, first improvised between the solemn phrases of the chorus ‘There let the pealing organ blow’, and then in a fugal improvisation based on the theme of the final chorus. (He took this theme from the final movement of the vocal trio ‘Quel fior che all’alba ride’, written many years earlier in Italy.) The reflective solo ‘May at last my weary age’ was added in 1741.

Moderato’s entrance at the start of Part III begins a sequence of accompanied recitative, aria, a second recitative and a chorus acting as the da capo repeat of the aria. The music, dominated by a leaping figure in dotted rhythm, is based partly on an aria in Handel’s draft score of the opera Imeneo, written in 1738 and presumably still lying uncompleted on his desk in 1740. A short soprano aria commends keeping the ‘golden mean’, though the rather teasing music suggests those who are rebuked for flitting from one extreme to another. Handel also seems to be at play in the aria ‘Each action will derive new grace’, where the appropriately graceful minuet-like tune at the start becomes subverted by curious cross-rhythms, as if negating the notions of ‘order’ and ‘due proportion’. The duet for Allegro and Penseroso raises the music to another plane. For this, the sublime resolution of the philosophical conflict, Jennens was wise enough to seek the aid of ‘sweetest Shakespeare’ and take an image from one of Prospero’s speeches in The Tempest:

The charm dissolves apace, And as the morning steals upon the night, Melting the darkness, so their rising senses Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle Their clearer reason. (The Tempest V: 1 64-68)

The duet is for instruments as well as voices: solo oboe and solo bassoon anticipate and echo the intertwining vocal lines, all accompanied by gently insistent string figures which are silenced only for a moment when the voices finally emerge into ‘intellectual day’. After this it is clear that the pleasures of moderation are not to be regarded lightly, and the final chorus is sombre in tone. Embedded in it are fragments of two German chorale melodies: the opening bars (as the Handel scholar John Roberts has recently pointed out) incorporate the first two phrases of Jesu, meine Freude, while the fugal subject on the words ‘In them alone we truly live’ develops the first phrase of Erhalt’ uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort. Handel had taken interest in chorale melodies since 1737, when he used them prominently in his Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline. The two tunes used here may have been chosen for purely musical reasons, but it is just possible that Handel, a true Christian, wanted to express the thought that reconciliation can come as much from the practice of faith as from the exercise of reason.

Recordings

Handel's setting of Milton's sublime poetry resulted in one of his most ravishing and profound scores. This first recording of the earliest version of the work follows Handel's own performances in 1740 with the inclusion of two Concerti grossi fro ...» More

'L'Allegro would with little doubt be one of my desert island pieces, all the most so after listening to this first truly complete recording of Handel ...'Unfailingly excellent' (BBC Music Magazine)» More

This collection demonstrates the variety and brilliance of Handel’s writing for the bass voice, with arias from Italian and English operas, English classical drama, Biblical oratorios, literary odes and a masque. Christopher Purves gives an extrao ...» More

Hence! vain deluding Joys,
Dwell in some idle brain,
And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess,
As thick and numberless
As the gay motes that people the sun-beams;
Or likest hovering dreams,
The fickle pensioners of Morpheus’ train.

Hence, vain deluding Joys,
Dwell in some idle brain,
And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess,
As thick and numberless
As the gay motes
That people the sunbeams;
Or likest hov’ring dreams,
The fickle pensioners of Morpheus’ train.

Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee
Jest, and youthful jollity;
Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles,
Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles,
Such as hang in Hebe’s cheek,
And love to live in dimple sleek;
Sport, that wrinkled care derides;
And laughter, holding both his sides.

Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee
Jest and youthful Jollity,
Quips, and cranks, and wanton wiles,
Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles,
Such as hang on Hebe’s cheek,
And love to live in dimple sleek;
Sport, that wrinkled care derides,
And laughter, holding both his sides.

Mirth, admit me of thy crew;
To live with her, and live with thee,
In unreproved pleasures free:
To hear the lark begin his flight,
And singing, startle the dull night:
Then to come, in spite of sorrow,
And at my window bid good morrow.

Mirth, admit me of thy crew,
To live with her and live with thee,
In unreproved pleasures free;
To hear the Lark begin his flight,
And singing startle the dull Night.
Then to come, in spite of sorrow,
And at my window bid good morrow.
Mirth, admit me of thy crew!

First, and chief, on golden wing,
The cherub contemplation bring;
And the mute silence hist along,
‘Less Philomel will deign a song;
In her sweetest, saddest plight,
Smoothing the rugged brow of night.

Sweet bird, that shun’st the noise of Folly,
Most musical, most melancholy,
Thee, Chantress, oft the woods among,
I woo, to hear thy evensong.
Or missing thee, I walk unseen,
On the dry smooth shaven green,
To behold the wand’ring moon
Riding near her highest noon.

Mirth, admit me of thy crew
To listen how the hounds and horn
Cheerly rouse the slumb’ring morn,
From the side of some hoar hill,
Through the high wood echoing shrill.

The closeness of the voice part and basso continuo line is a common feature in Handel’s bass arias, but in plenty of cases the bass line and voice part work in close conjunction rather than merely doubling each other. The jaunty hunting aria ‘Mirth, admit me of thy crew’ uses the instrumental bass line as a springboard for a charismatic horn solo part and boldly tuneful voice part in the ode L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (London, 1740), which presents an allegorical moral dispute between Melancholy (il Penseroso) and Mirth (l’Allegro); the integration of voice, instruments and poetry in ‘Mirth, admit me of thy crew’ perfectly illustrates the jollity of outdoor pursuits.

Oft’ on a plat of rising ground,
I hear the far-off Curfeu sound,
O’er some wide water’d shore,
Swinging slow, with sullen roar:
Or if the air will not permit,
Some still removed place will fit,
Where glowing embers, through the room,
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom.

Oft on a plat of rising ground
I hear the far-off curfew sound,
Over some wide water’d shore,
Swinging slow, with sullen roar;
Or, if the air will not permit,
Some still removed place will fit,
Where glowing embers, through the room,
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom.

Let me wander, not unseen,
By hedge-row elms, on hillocks green,
There the plowman near at hand,
Whistles o’er the furrow’d land;
And the milkmaid singeth blithe;
And the mower whets his scythe;
And every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn, in the dale.

Let me wander not unseen
By hedge-row elms, on hillocks green:
There the ploughman, near at hand,
Whistles o’er the furrow’d land,
And the milkmaid singeth blithe,
And the mower whets his scythe,
And every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn, in the dale.

Hence vain deluding Joys,
The brood of folly, without father bred;
How little you bested,
Or fill the fixe d mind with all your toys!
O! let my lamp, at midnight hour,
Be seen in some high lonely tow’r,
Where I may oft’ outwatch the bear,
With thrice-great Hermes, or unsphere
The spirit of Plato, to unfold
What worlds, or what vast regions hold
Th’immortal mind, that hath forsook
Her mansion in this fleshly nook.

Hence, vain deluding Joys,
The brood of Folly without father bred!
How little you bested,
Or fill the fix’d mind with all your toys!
O let my lamp at midnight hour
Be seen in some high lonely tower,
Where I may oft outwatch the Bear
With thrice-great Hermes, or unsphere
The spirit of Plato, to unfold
What worlds, or what vast regions hold
Th’ immortal mind, that hath forsook
Her mansion in this fleshly nook.

But O! sad virgin, that thy power
Might raise Musæus from his bower;
Or bid the soul of Orpheus sing
Such notes, as, warbled to the string,
Drew iron tears down Pluto’s cheek,
And made hell grant what Love did seek.

But O, sad virgin, that thy pow’r
Might raise Musaeus from his bow’r!
Or bid the soul of Orpheus sing
Such notes as warbled to the string,
Drew iron tears down Pluto’s cheek,
And made Hell grant what Love did seek!

Populous cities please me [us] then,
And the busy hum of men,
Where throngs of knights, and barons bold,
In weeds of peace high triumphs hold;
With store of ladies, whose bright eyes
Rain influence, and judge the prize
Of wit, or arms, while both contend
To win her grace, whom all commend.

There let Hymen oft’ appear
In saffron robe, with taper clear,
And pomp, and feast, and revelry,
With masque, and antique pageantry;
Such sights as youthful poets dream
On summer-eves, by haunted stream.

Me, when the sun begins to fling
His flaring beams, me, goddess, bring
To arched walks of twilight groves,
And shadows brown, that Sylvan loves:
There, in close covert, by some brook,
Where no profaner eye may look.

Me, when the sun begins to fling
His flaring beams, me, goddess, bring
To arched walks of twilight groves,
And shadows brown, that Sylvan loves;
There, in close covert, by some brook,
Where no profaner eye may look.

Hide me from day’s garish eye,
While the bee, with honey’d thigh,
Which at her flow’ry work doth sing,
And the waters murmuring,
With such concert as they keep
Entice the dewy-feather’d sleep:
And let some strange mysterious dream
Wave at his wings, in airy stream
Of lively portraiture display’d,
Softly on my eyelids laid.
Then, as I wake, sweet music breathe
Above, about, or underneath,
Sent by some spirit to mortal’s good,
Or th’unseen genius of the wood.

Hide me from Day’s garish eye,
While the bee with honied thigh,
That at her flow’ry work doth sing,
And the waters murmuring,
With such consort as they keep,
Entice the dewy feather’d Sleep;
And let some strange mysterious Dream
Wave at his wings in airy stream
Of lively portraiture display’d,
Softly on my eyelids laid.
Then, as I wake, sweet music breathe,
Above, about, or underneath,
Sent by some spirit to mortals good,
Or th’unseen genius of the wood.

And ever against eating cares,
Lap me in soft Lydian airs:
Sooth me with immortal verse,
Such as the meeting soul may pierce
In notes, with many a winding bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out;
With wanton heed, and giddy cunning,
The melting voice through mazes running,
Untwisting all the chains that tie
The hidden soul of harmony.

And ever against eating cares
Wrap me in soft Lydian airs;
Sooth me with immortal verse,
Such as the meeting soul may pierce
In notes, with many a winding bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out;
With wanton heed, giddy cunning,
The melting voice through mazes running,
Untwisting all the chains that tie
The hidden soul of harmony.

There let the pealing organ blow
To the full-voic’d quire below,
In service high, and anthem clear;
And let their sweetness through mine ear,
Dissolve me into extasies,
And bring all Heav’n before mine eyes.

There let the pealing organ blow
To the full-voic’d choir below,
In service high and anthems clear,
And let their sweetness, thro’ mine ear,
Dissolve me into ecstasies,
And bring all Heav’n before mine eyes.

May at last my weary age
Find out the peaceful hermitage,
The hairy gown and mossy cell,
Where I may sit and rightly spell
Of ev’ry star that Heav’n doth shew,
And ev’ry herb that sips the dew;
Till old Experience do attain
To something like prophetic strain.

Come, with native lustre shine,
Moderation, grace divine;
Whom the wise God of nature gave,
Mad mortals from themselves to save.
Keep, as of old, the middle-way,
Nor deeply sad, nor idly gay;
But still the same in look and gaite,
Easy, cheerful, and sedate.

Sweet temp’rance in thy right-hand bear,
With her let rosy health appear;
And in thy left contentment true,
Whom headlong passion never knew.
Frugality by bounty’s side,
Fast friends, tho’ oft as foes bely’d;
Chaste Love, by reason led secure,
With joy sincere, and pleasure pure;
Happy life from Heav’n descending,
Crowds of smiling years attending.

Come, with native lustre shine,
Moderation, grace divine,
Whom the wise God of nature gave,
Mad mortals from themselves to save.
Keep, as of old, the middle way,
Nor deeply sad, nor idly gay,
But still the same in look and gait,
Easy, cheerful and sedate.

Come, with gentle hand restrain
Those who fondly court their bane;
One extreme with caution shunning,
To another blindly running.
Kindly teach, how blest are they
Who Nature’s equal rules obey;
Who safely steer two rocks between,
And prudent keep the golden mean.

Come, with gentle hand restrain
Those who fondly court their bane;
One extreme with caution shunning,
To another blindly running.
Kindly teach, how blest are they,
Who nature’s equal rules obey;
Who safely steer two rocks between,
And prudent keep the golden mean.

No more short life they then will spend,
In straying farther from its end;
In frantick mirth, and childish play,
In dance and revels night and day;
Or else like lifeless statues seeming,
Ever musing, moping, dreaming.

No more short life they then will spend
In straying farther from its end
In frantic mirth, and childish play,
In dance and revels, night and day;
Or else like lifeless statues seeming,
Ever musing, moping, dreaming.